Those Bags are not My Bag

What is it with people carrying bags on trains ? Has it gotten 200% worse the past year or have I just become older and more intolerant? Or maybe I am running out of blog topics? But seriously (cue laugh track here) everyone seems to have some type of baggage that they either swing like a bolero, or affix to themselves so they can squeeze into type spaces (invading my space specifically). On the LIRR in the past week I have experienced 3 hits or near misses to my nose by riders’ backpacks or shoulder bags. On the subway in that same time sample I have been tormented ( woe is me!) by at least that many gym bags, pocket books and shopping bags. So what is the underlying reason for this ? Backpacks are very popular and most people (grade schoolers and seniors alike) keep them on their backs (why do you think they call them backpacks?) even in a crowded subway. Add to this the fact that most people are entranced by their smartphones, oblivious to train etiquette and my entreaties (get your boom box antenna out of my nostril ! ) and every other human on the train and planet , and this is a volatile mix. The true answer though is not to complain or push back or follow suit with your own baggage attachments or bump stocks. Just make your personal footprint ASAP (as small as possible), with no baggage attached, and peacefully chant your mantra (only 4 years to retirement!) 

Basil news: The weather is cold so the basil children have been shivering and shriveling. Linda used the few remaining leaves last weekend as we bid a fond farewell to our sweet smelling herbs. Oregano is braving the cold like a real trooper and graced our mahi dinner yesterday. Next event will be the planting of garlic cloves in winter for a spring sprouting. Maybe we do on Christmas Day! 

Degrees of separation: (this is a new basil blog feature that connects seemingly unrelated concepts or people, by events or relationships in our lives and past) 

Thurman and Elvis
Thurman Munson was the heart and soul of the Yankees in their ‘70’s championship years. He was rookie of the year, MVP and led them to 2 World Series championships. He was also a pilot. In the summer of 1979, I was working at Amato’s food market in Rockaway Borough, NJ. The owner was Frank Amato, a very short Italian man in his 50’s who screamed at everyone and everything. We were all petrified of him. As I was making a delivery in the Amato’s market van on August 2, 1979, I heard on the radio that Thurman had crashed his plane and was dead. I couldn’t believe it. I instinctively pulled over to the side of the road, to focus all of my attention on what was being said. Frank Amato’s son was a classmate of my brother Joe. My brother said that he was a real hot-head like his dad, but much taller and wider. Frank had a pair of blue suede shoes that he often wore to school. Lord have mercy on anyone who stepped on those shoes while dashing through the crowded hallways between classes. As Elvis so famously sang “you can do anything but stay off of my blue suede shoes”. 

Elvis has left the blog. 

Keep the faith y'all

Google is killing people - well almost

A recent, somewhat dangerous project allowed me to stumble upon a chilling , shocking possibility. While painting the shutters last month I was perched at perhaps the highest altitude of my history, using grandpa’s extension ladder. While painting the bedroom shutters from outside, I was finishing up when I realized I had forgotten to paint the tops of the shutters. After a moments thought I realized that my concern was silly. The only way to see that the shutter tops were unpainted was from above, and nobody will be walking on our steep roof. And then it hit me like the cold breath of the grim reaper......Google earth, satellite photos. The complete view of the world, including 150 Lagoon Blvd. , from above. And zooming capabilities that could spot that woodpecker clanging on our chimney top....and the unpainted shutters. As I began to climb higher yet on the ladder, a sobering idea occurred, its origin unknown. How many others have had this same fear of embarrassing google revelations from the heavens, and have fallen to their death trying to avoid it? How many roofers, tree trimmers, flagpole polishers, hot air balloon seamstresses and the like, have plunged to their deaths, wrestling with the dilemma that I now knew was a losing battle. I retreated down the ladder to terra firma, relieved that I had not been googled to death.

Things get loose: Better tighten up! Everyone who has ever turned a screwdriver or fiddled a wrench, or lived beneath the shelter of an enclosed dwelling, knows that over time things get loose. The cabinet hinges need to be tightened occasionally. That water under your feet is a good indication that the hose on your kitchen faucet sprayer needs tightening. And if you neglect the warnings that say your eyeglasses are loose, you may lose your lenses, and your sense of direction. Also, in life, other more subtle, less tangible items get loose. Sometimes our mind gets loose, and we forget to concentrate on the things that we love, and the priorities that we should be concentrating on. Bruce Lee, the great martial artist, talked about “kime” (pronounced kee-may) or tight mind. It is the state of consciousness where your mind is very clear, and you are not overthinking. Your body is doing the job it has been taught to do through repetition , and it is clear and agile enough to respond and adapt to new input. When you are doing the right thing, and your mind and body is in a place it has been before due to good habits and proper preparation, kime is much more possible. Sometimes our discipline for working out or other personal responsibilities gets loose. Sometimes our relationship with others gets loose. Sometimes our vision for our own direction gets loose. Given that our lives are extremely busy, and complicated and proceeding at an ever increasing pace, this is normal and expected. As Archie Bell and the Drells once told us, all you need to do is tighten up!

Basil update: My basil seedling children are growing , mostly in pots but some have graduated to the garden. The recent stretch of sunny days and Linda’s motherly love and watering has inspired them and made them strong. The broccoli had a bad case of CBW (cabbage butterfly worms) which is now cured, but the month of crawling worms and being chewed on has taken a psychological toll. After a week of chlorophyll therapy with a vegetable psychologist , the broccoli is finally showing signs of bearing fruit. Parsley was initially very nervous and self conscious and her growth seemed stunted. I was worried that she was being bullied by the large and sour dill hovering over her. She seems to have found her sense of purpose and is now sprouting. Oregano has been gone for years and we are happy that he has joined us again. He is smelling aromatic and lifting the spirits of everyone within nose-shot.

I will post again in a few more years. Keep the faith y'all. 

Thanks for the advice, I will ignore it !

Growing up we all got a lot of advice from parents , coaches , teachers and religious instructors (you are going to hell, don't say you know me ! ).  Even as adults we get advice daily from possibly caring, often opportunistic sources like self help books, life coaches, TV doctors (Oz and Phil) and even our dreams (Andy Warhol told me to buy Google last night).  It can all become a bit too much if you get my driftwood, a real pain in the solar plexiglass ( malaprops intended ). 

For this very reason I have devised a revolutionary advice avoidance and interpretation system that will allow us to inflate our own egos and perhaps put some of those media smart alecs on the unemployment line. Known as the Wisdom Translation Filter, or WTF, the system gladly accepts advice as input, and magically converts it to proof of one of the 10 commandments or truisms that I have deemed essential to continued life on the  planet. Here is a simple real life example:

The car mechanic tells me "your truck has something very wrong with the emission system or the fuel line and may explode. You should have that checked out".  I immediately discount and ignore his advice based on commandment #3: Anyone with auto grease between their teeth is untrustworthy.  Mission accomplished as Jorge Bushelo would say.

The next example involves a foolish train conductor who smugly advised me to "move to another car because the AC is broken in this one". Due to intense training in the WTF dogma, the left side of my brain (know as the hippo-inertial lobe)  flashes the warning IGNORE IGNORE - IGNORAMOUS ENCOUNTERED. This is based on commandment #7: Any civil servant wearing more than 100 buttons on their hat has most likely suffered brain damage from toxic metal seepage. Avoid and ignore them at all costs. I stayed in the car and wound up losing 3 pounds. I happened to be on a diet and did not have to go to the gym that night. So the WTF system does work !

Although I would not force this philosophy (dare I say manifesto?) on any right thinking American, should you be looking to start a dictatorship or theocracy in another country, or at the local Knights of Columbus hall, it is a great base to build on. The 10 commandments are:

1.  Never pay more than $10 (tip included ) for a haircut.  What, you already knew that one? How did you know?
2. If you see a restaurant with a fairly long line of cats outside, they probably serve great seafood. 
3. Mentioned above.
4. Donald Trump's hair is a totally self sufficient ecosystem, similar to parts of the Amazon jungle. It absorbs oxygen and false praise and emits hate, bigotry, lies and UV rays that sometimes cause transition sunglass lenses to darken.
5. Decaf coffee and non-alcoholic beer should be outlawed. They make as much sense as invisible paint. If you don't want them, or can't have them, leave them alone. 
6.  Aliens have abducted a fairly high percentage of the New York population and replaced them with exact replicas. The one tell-tale sign of these creatures is a predilection for playing Pokemon Go. Once the leaders of the foreign planet have sufficient location info about earth (transmitted by Pokemon Go) , they  will invade the planet and appoint Ichiro Suzuki as supreme leader. Can't wait !
7. Please see above. 

Well that's it. Oh you say I should have 10 commandments? I will ignore that. 

Basil update: those vegetables are a loyal, tightly knit crew! I was eavesdropping the other morning  under the guise of weeding and watering, when I heard the basil, peppers and tomatoes talking. "We have to stick together. Here in the garden, on the cutting board, in salads, in their mouths, stomachs and beyond, don't ever let them break us up".  A tear came to my eye, or was that just the morning dew?

Keep the Faith y'all !

You don't want to do this !

As Adam Duritz of Counting Crows pleadingly instructs  in Murder of One "You don't want to waste your life!" Hmmmm, of course we don't want to waste our life, especially given that so many caring, talented people die young , and others with great potential live in countries where their skills are repressed or bring punishment.  

But remember what Spider man taught us, that "with great power comes great responsibility."   

In the good ole' US of A, pretty much everyone's potential is unimpeded by external forces , although money, connections and the proper ethnic profile certainly help. 

You can pick and choose how you want to give back, to charities, or embracing volunteerism in many ways, be they religious, political or cultural.  One could argue that by giving back, contributing to the greater good, we can securely conclude that we do not waste our life.  I beg to differ.  

"Now some guys they just give up living, start dyeing little by little, piece by piece. Some guys come home from work and wash up, and go racin' in the street." This Is Bruce from Racing in the Street  off the Darkness album.  I do believe it is true that when you ignore what your talents are, and stop doing what truly gives you your identity, then yes you do start dyeing, or at least that magical force inside you that makes you unique starts to die.  So keep racing in the street, even if it is en route to the early bird special at Red Lobster.    

I had an ancient history teacher at Manhattan College who was asked by an engineer why he needed to know anything about ancient history.  Professor Hazeltine responded: "when you graduate and get a job you must decide whether you want to come home from work each night and watch TV and drink beer in your tee shirt. Is that a satisfactory life?"  I guess the point was that we must be open to all types of knowledge and never stop learning.   

We are in violent agreement with you Adam, we don't want to waste our life ! 

To distill all of the above into one  sentence, y'all better fulfill your potential by doing what you do best to the nth degree and in the process make this world a better place. If, ny ding so, you happen to make 12 trillion dollars and became a national hero/heroine, then God bless you.  

Murder Mystery:

Only recently did I come to know that a "group" of crows is called a "murder of crows".  Thus the autobiographical "Murder of One" mentioned above. The whole crow story in the song also sounds like a reference to Don Juan from the Carlos Castaneda books, who did happen to turn into a crow.

Basil Report:

Normally it is mid-May when I feel safe from the frost to plant my precious veggies. Given 

the recent insane temperatures, this year it may be June or July. 

Keep the faith brothers and sisters.

Sent from my iPhone

The Holy Trinity

In my speech to the academy I will thank the holy trinity for making this blog possible. Linda for gifting me the new exercise bike, Kaila for reminding/inspiring me to blog, and Kristin for donating her old iPhone 5 to the cause. Aha, you may ask, how did these 3 occurrences intersect to make this blog  happen? 

This simple formula shows the relationship:

 (Exertion on the bike + desire to blog) * music from Iphone = creative result 

For me the creative energy starts to percolate as my heart rate increases, especially as the sweat starts to flow (bringing me closer to God),  as exertion creates relaxation and some type of portal opens. Unfortunately I do not lay pen to paper regarding my thoughts until much later. The primary ideas are now created with some details, but the fleshing out is a future activity.  Another formula pertaining to the efficiency of the final creative result:

Quality of music * (100 - days between workout and blog completion) = blog quality.   

Now that you know the mechanics, let's get to the subject matter:

U2's album (I use that term in a nostalgic, sarcastic way, protesting the fact that current musical media has no cohesive or logical quality) "How to dismantle an atomic bomb" is the value of the 

 

music from iPhone 

 

variable In above equation.   On to the review of the album and my life so far:

Vertigo: great starting track, when I heard it on the radio so many years ago  I thought it was "a band trying to sound like early U2"

Miracle drug: it exists, but you must make it yourself, not with a chemistry set, but by determination and a keen sense of perception and trust. Sometimes though it has no effect and that is why you need your coffeemaker.  

Sometimes you can't make it on your own: so simple and so difficult for many to learn.  In the midst of doing the right thing and making your loved ones proud, you may forget this.  Don't worry, we (and Bono) will remind you. 

Love  and Peace or else: ah yes irony at play here.  This song came on 10 years ago when Bob Denk and I were riding in the car and  I advised him that this was U2.  "I'm not that old. I know it's U2". You go Bob ! Given the state of the world where, in fact, is Love and Peace? 

City of Blinding Lights: anthemic, cascsding, innocent, you can't fool

us though Bono you ain't so sensitive and vulnerable are you?  And that group "ooh, ooh,ooh, ooh,ooh actually reminds me of the end of Born to Run.  

All Because of You: Very simply, we can interpret this to mean that we are a product of our environment. The collective "you" has made we who I am and created my frame of reference and my world view. But in more personal terms we all have important people in our lives that have made us what we are. Thank those people every day.  

A Man and a Woman: Is that high-pitched vocal at the end Bono or The Edge ? My money is on The Edge. "When the soul needs, the soul waits". What is so magical and important about waiting? Don Juan emphasized this with Castanada: "A man of knowledge waits, because that is all he can do. He waits and he sees. "

Crumbs from your Table: Bono's range takes us to "The Edge".  What does the song mean ? Who cares, this is the quintessence of U2 and cannot fail.  

One Step Closer: "to knowing". Hanging out to dry in my old clothes.  Does Bono have old clothes? Yes we are all searching for knowledge, often in dumb places.  

Original of the Species: apologies to Chuck for the title. A typically simple U2 diddy, with Bono's great voice and clever lyrics making it all work in a way that makes you think that things come way too easily to that Irish lad.  

Yahweh: yes yes Bono is spiritual and any Christian must trace his roots back to Yahweh, Hebrew for "I am who am".  Just as you think it's boring The Edge wakes up and chimes in.  Sufficiently religious sounding that it makes you feel guilty about not liking it.  

David Bowie RIP: wow he is gone.  A key contributor to the soundtrack of my youth. When they open the Ziggy Stardust exhibit at the Smithsonian in 5 years, Bowie will have written, produced, performed, or influenced 50% of the music being listened to on the personal  headphones by the attendees, and perhaps people around the world.  Ziggy....played....guitar !  

Basil Update: To plant seeds now or just buy plants then, that is the question ! Please help me decide. 

Keep the Faith, and pray for Trump's barber !

Seize the moment - shoot the praying mantis !

This post is about  my last post so it could be called a meta post.  But my last post never happened so I am not sure......about anything. I created it as a note on my iPhone and while doing some final refinement ....poof it was gone. I googled the issue and went to the App Store and looked for a backup on the cloud. Needless to say it is still gone. 

Ironically the lost post was about time. Integrating it  with my current theme makes me wonder if I waited too long to post it. Or perhaps I didn't spend enough time backing it up,saving it to the cloud.  Was I too hasty in making my changes and thus the fatal error?

Recently In Arizona I noticed a praying mantis on the outside wall of our house just above the garage door. As most people these days, instead of savoring the moment, I ran for my phone to take a picture. Once inside I was distracted and forgot about the religious insect. The next morning I remembered the little green guy and went out with my phone. He was gone. I had missed my chance to get a photo, and also the chance to simply observe at close range this beautiful unique creature. The fact that we rarely see these alien-like life forms makes any sighting a special moment, one to be valued. 

So what is the lesson here, pertaining to time? As Patti Smith said, we must "seize the possibilities".  We must take advantage of the moment, now, because we don't know quickly it will be gone, or how many other times we will experience this unique opportunity. How purifying to live totally "in the now" with no thought of tomorrow's responsibilities or yesterday's mistakes, or even the next breath. 

Although these may be thoughts for the "high and lofty", I think slowing down and taking the time to understand the uniqueness of each moment and certain special occurrences, helps counteract the frenetic, random pace we often live at. Well gee, it looks like I am out of time, so I leave you with this: remember to seize every moment and possibility you can, recognizing the unique joy and lesson it provides. Now back to work, and don't miss that deadline !

Basil Update: the basil is now hibernating at the Arctic Circle , staying warm beneath the torsos of snoring polar bears. Sleep well my children. 

Keep the Faith !

Breathing ? I don't have time for that!

Time is very important. What would we do without it? Without the order maintaining dimension of time, I would dress for work before showering (messy),  floss after brushing (heresy!) and get cremated before I die (ouch!). But many or most of us think we don't have enough of it. I don't believe this is true.  

Most of our lives are quite busy, quite complex , because we actively choose to juggle work, family life, wellness activities and the arts. "The arts" is a very subjective term which runs the spectrum from going to the Met, ballet or museum, to spending  time at the shooting range, chicken fights or watching Duck Dynasty. It is the effective prioritization of these time consuming activities that will allow us to have the quantity and quality of time that we desire. Unhappiness occurs when we incorrectly prioritize the activities that are competing for our precious time.  You see, our time on earth is not infinite. Ben Franklin said  "you may delay, but time will not".  Wow do you hear that, gentle Ben is telling it like it is. You can delay your fatherly duties by missing your daughter's dance recital or tennis match, but by the time those activities bubble up to your priority queue, it may be too late to make a difference or you may be dead.  

They say that time is money, so these  2 commodities are certainly linked. When people feel that they have no time for "play" (sports,the arts,wellness activities,snake charming) because money making activities are more important, trouble is brewing. In addition to showing your friends and family that they matter, engaging in play isolates you from your work life, enforcing the idea that you actively choose your destiny, and are not a slave to work or "the man".  That meditation class may cost a few bucks, but if the deep breathing lowers your blood pressure, it is worth it's weight in gold. Funerals are expensive ! 

So choose wisely, as it truly is your choice. They say that "you can't take it with you" and that is true. You also cannot take "them" with you. So spend your money wisely but spend your time with your loved ones even more wisely.  Only you can be the judge of what your time is worth.   

Basil update: the basil plants are gone, victims of a nasty rainfall and that gluttonous Parsley plant (I hate him/her/it). Next year that Parsley gets put in a corner - and it will still flourish. Sweet basil planted from seed is flourishing with a pretty yellow hue. As one dies, another is born.  

Keep the faith y'all and please pray for the pope !